Kana POV:

Dressed in warm winter clothes, I slowly opened the pastel pink door of the cute little cafe Aqua had invited me to.

His invitation was so formal and gentlemanly, I was almost afraid to see the person he'd become now in his time at America. Could he have completely changed? 

I scanned the small cafe and immediantly spotted him. 

He sat in a small corner of the cafe, watching me with an intensity that I wasn't familair with. His golden stableboy hair looked just the same, strands of hair that looked like they'd been dipped in gold framing his angular face. His ocean-blue eyes that I had once lost myself still were breathtaking but they seemed deeper now, as if layers of intellect had been lathered over them. His position on the corner sofa looked so laidback and relaxed that I thought I was the only one nervous until I saw his fingers tense. 

"Hey, Aqua," I said, approaching the table and setting my things on the floor. 

"Better not do that," he gestured at my bag. "Criminals are common around here."

I resisted rolling my eyes and set it on my lap with a sarcastic plonk. "It's been a while, Aqua."

"Yes. How is Japan?" Aqua asked. 

"Fine." I replied shortly. I didn't plan to stay long. "How is America?"

"Good." Aqua folded his fingers together, like a business man. "My time here made me realise some things."

"And they would be?" I replied curtly. I wasn't going to chat to him like an old friend because he wasn't one. A familair spark of something still lit in my chest when I caught sight of him today but just like always, I had tried to dump a bucket of cold water over it. If only it would existinguish, then, I might be able to look at him like a stranger would.

"One, I was wrong to cheat on Akane. I didn't even like Frill over her," Aqua said remorsefully. "I wish I could have a second chance with her."

"Oh, well," I gritted my teeth. "What's done is done. She's quite happily found herself a new boyfriend now."

"But," Aqua contuined, blankly ignoring my remark. "There's someone else I want to have a second chance with more."

"Ruby." I replied, deadpan. "Yeah. She does kind of hate you now." A lie. Ruby could never hate her own brother. But she sure didn't trust him anymore.

"I wish I could have a second chance at you." Aqua replied, yet again ignoring my digs. "When I look back at the short time we had together, I regret everything I said to you or did to you."

I stared at him. "I wish I could have a second chance at you too. Then, I could hit you with a cricket bat from the very start. You're implying..?"

Aqua laughed. Quietly, with a source of misery in it. "I'm implying that I wondered if we could make a fresh start on our relationship. I thought... well. I just.."

I understood what he was trying to say. The red tinge in his cheeks and the way he wouldn't meet my eyes suggested it all.

When I looked at the man sitting in front of me, any trace of the old Aqua was gone. He was like a shell of that Aqua, the perfect shell that coated anything left. He was a completely different person. 

I would never have believed that the old Aqua would have said that to me.

But I was still the old Kana. I hadn't changed a bit. So how was I supposed to respond? Like a caring, motherly friend? A brutal, harsh stranger? A old enemy? A distant familiy member?

Who was I to him? Or more importantly, who was he to me?

"I'm sorry, Aqua." I sighed. "This is all very strange to me. You've... changed."

His face fell, but he didn't let himself show it. "Yes. I have. America, space and time has allowed me to reflect on my choices. I want to change that."

"I.... I don't know," I struggled to find the right words. "I don't know if I should accept or decline, whatever it is you're proposing. But you should know... I already have a boyfriend."

He looked struck. The shock and disappointment in his eyes were like a spark to the water. 

"It's been many years, Aqua, don't look so shocked," I smiled but I wasn't feeling it. "I know I shouldn't, as I am an idol, but Miyako's fine with it and the public already knows about it."

"Should have done my research," he muttered, trying to make a joke, but not quite getting it right with the solemn, heavy tone of his voice. Still, I laughed. 

"His name's Kwang. He's an idol like me."

"Really? Interesting name." Aqua said. "It doesn't sound Japanese. Or American."

"No, it's Korean. He's a Korean idol. I've been seeing him for a while now," I smiled. Aqua didn't smile back.

Truth to be told, Kwang and I were more like friends than anything else. We had a lighhearted, general relationship that felt a lot more platonic. Still, he was a nice person and I was happy to be with him. Media deemed us a cute couple, but that could just be the fake flirting we did in public. 

Honestly? I had never felt that spark for Kwang that I did for Aqua. 

A/N: Sorry for not updating for a while! I know everyone is pretty suprised with the sudden time skip and everything but I am trying to speed up the story since it's already Chapter 37. I usually end my books at chapter 20-30.